Monday Morning Shuffle

First off, congratulations to long-time friend Donny Ducote and his band, My Sister in 1994, for their successful CD release party at the Modified last night. Great show and i'm proud of you guys. (One side note, why is it always so damn hot in the Modified??? Open a door or something for god's sake. I can't remember being there a single time and not sweating profusely. Not good.)

On with the Shuffle:
1. Bones - The Killers, off of Sam's Town
Last week i made a top 5 list of music so far in 2007. I tried to post it and Blogger decided to take a dump on it and delete it. So it doesn't exist anymore. I'm going to try and redo it sometime this week, we'll see. Anyway, my point in telling you that is that Sam's Town was #4 on my Top 5 list of pleasant surprises. The Killer's were ripe for a Kanye West Award (awarded to boring, ego driven and otherwise god-awful Sophomore albums...) but they did pretty well i think. There are some weird moments but overall i like the album. And i like what they did on this song as well. I like the choir sounding parts. On the right sound system these can actually sound pretty overwhelming and awesome.

2. Chick Magnet - MXPX
Wow, flashback to 11th grade. I saw MXPX in Salt Lake City my junior year on the Invasion Ski/Snowboard trip. It was in this very cool theater and we were moshing it up and dancing around. This song came on and we were all dancing around in the big circle and when the chorus kicked in we all started moshing. Then, I got kicked in the nuts. Hard.
I spent the rest of the evening curled up on the brick floor in the corner trying to recover. I actually seem to remember throwing up because of it. It was one of the all time hardest nut shots ever and that's what i remember every time i hear this song. Awesome. Let's move on.

3. Diamond from Sierra Leone - Kanye West, off of Late Registration
How great is the shuffle that i just talked shit about this album and i get a song from it just one song later. Oh well.
I've already discussed Kanye probably far more than i should in this space so i won't dig too deep into this song. I actually like it. Relative to the CD this one isn't bad. And i'm happy that Kanye actually discussed a subject matter that is difficult and brought some awareness to an otherwise bling-obsessed culture.
There is more than a hint of hypocrisy in this track but that shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. And Kanye completely loses me on the "Foreva eva?" parts. I appreciate the reference to Outkast but it's just stupid, messes with the flow of the song and actually takes some of the seriousness out of the track. Oh well. The rumor is that a new Kanye CD will be out this year. Here's hoping he redeems himself.

4. Out From Under - Incubus, off of Make Yourself
The first line of this song is, "To resist is to piss in the wind, anyone who does will end up smelling." That's a pretty great friggin metaphor.
And speaking of hypocrisy, how great is it that Incubus writes this song about being individual and not giving in to the masses and not conforming and then they become TRL poster children and absolutely lay a goose egg on every CD since Morning View? Way to go guys.

5. Everything's Not Lost - Coldplay, off of Parachutes
Weird Shuffle today. I mean, i know it's supposed to be random but usually there is a bit more continuity than this.
Anyway, as far as Coldplay goes, this is one of my favorite songs. I really, really like the guitar in the chorus. It just catches me the right way. This entire CD was pretty good (for Coldplay) and i guess that's why this is the album that made them famous. Makes sense right?
That being said, I completely lost respect for them in every way after watching their Storytellers the other night. I mean, the dude talks about how when he wrote Yellow that the chorus was missing something and he couldn't think of what to put there and he looked around the room and saw a YellowPages and said, "They were all yellow." and it fit. So really, there's no meaning in that song at all...he just looks around the room and says words and they turn into multi-platinum albums... I cringe to think that more of my favorite artists write like this and even worse to think that the songs that mean the most to me were just bullshitted by a guy looking around the room and trying to fill holes in the song. I don't know how i'd handle that.
Also, Chris Martin is inspired by porn. Can't wait till Apple grows up and hears that...

Alright, more later this week. Probably.

Monday Morning Shuffle

1. False Media - The Roots, off of Game Theory
I'll be honest, i just got this CD and i haven't had a chance to really digest it. That being said, i love the Roots, i've heard nothing but good things about this CD, and i'm really glad the Roots took another turn at making a political statement. People with the loudest voices need to be saying these things. I talk about them on Everything is A-Ok all day long, but like 7 people read that right now. Anyway, this CD is going to have to be really damn good to compare to the Tipping Point (their last album), but i'm crossing my fingers. Bottom line, The Roots have always been good, they've been around a long damn time and unlike another formerly good formally underground hip-hop group i could mention, they haven't resorted to hiring a meth-head with very little talent and a heinous face but a decent body to sell their records.

2. Running on Faith - Eric Clapton, off of Eric Clapton Unplugged
Remember when MTV did unPlugged shows with only the biggest groups and even then, only with people who actually had the talent to pull it off? Nirvana, Eric Clapton, Alice-In-Chains...all of them talented, and huge draws at the time they did the show. Yesterday while channel surfing i was a show that said "MTV Unplugged" so i clicked on it to see who it was, hoping for one of the greats. It was fucking Ricky Martin.

3. Midnight Show - The Killers, off of Hot Fuss
I love this CD when it first came out and then it got overplayed in a hurry. Some people think it compares to Pearl Jam in its longevity but i disagree. Does anyone have any thoughts on their new CD? I haven't heard it yet but i have heard mixed reviews. Anyone who loves it/hates it can have their own post on this site if they'd like to review it for me. (And send me a copy.)

4. The Velorium Camper III: Al the Killer - Coheed & Cambria, off of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
That's a damn mouthful isn't it? Full Disclosure: Co&Ca is one of my absolute favorite bands. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being a basic music fan, 10 being the obsessed kids flipping through the comic books and liner notes trying to pick up any single clue they can as to the story of Coheed and Cambria, i'm about a 7. I'm not trying to determine the story for myself, but i'm definitely interested in it and will be in line buying the next CD the moment it comes out (unless Perry can get it for me early, like he always seems to do.). So anyway, for those of you who don't know, here is a basis of the story so far. And for those of you who have never listened, i definitely suggest giving them a try. They're not for everyone so i can't guarantee everyone who reads this will like them (Suzanne, ahem.) but if you like addictive guitar riffs, soaring solos and a lead singer with a massive afro who sounds like Geddy Lee from Rush, i highly suggest you check them out.

5. So Far Away - Dire Straits, off of Sultans of Swing
Not the song i would have picked from this Cd but hey, it's the shuffle, you can't argue. Anyway, back in the day, when i still thought i loved country music, i was in a car on the way to baseball practice when one of my friends (who may, or may not have been Brandon Peyton) had Money for Nothing playing in his Dad's truck. The guitar solo at the beginning was so damn mind blowing that it just stuck with me. This is probably one of the very first glimpses i had of what rock music could be like and while it may not have been the defining moment in my conversion from country, it was definitely a crumbling in that foundation. Dire Straits is a great older band and really has a lot of the same characteristics of what i like in a band as coheed. Great catchy riffs, pretty great lyrics and awesome solos. I didn't think i'd ever be comparing Dire Straits to Coheed but hey, that's what you get with the Shuffle. Oh and MBFY.

Alright, that's enough for today. Tune in Wednesday when i inject some major controversy into Championship Vinyl.